Access to safe and effective agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemicals is important for Australia’s agriculture sector, the community and the environment.
The Australian Government provides funding support through the Access to Industry - Priority Uses of Agvet Chemicals program. The program helps improve access to safe and effective agvet chemicals so farmers can continue producing food for Australia and global markets.
The Australian Government has committed $33.8 million to fund the program from 2014 to 2029.
Of this funding, $19.86 million has been approved in grants. These grants support projects that generate data for applications to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). The applications aim to gain, maintain or expand access to priority uses of agvet chemicals.
A further $7 million of the committed funding will be available through grant rounds in 2025-26 and 2027-28.
Other activities have also been funded through the commitment.
Funding
To date 250 grants, totalling $19.86 million have been awarded.
- The first round of assistance grants in 2015-16 funded 49 grants worth $1.608 million.
- The second round in 2016-17 funded 51 grants worth $2.499 million.
- The third round in 2017-18 funded 26 grants worth $1.755 million.
- The fourth round in 2018-19 funded 23 grants worth $2 million.
- The fifth round in 2019-20 funded 22 grants worth $2 million.
- The sixth round in 2020-21 funded 21 grants worth $2 million.
- The seventh round in 2021-22 funded 16 grants worth $2 million.
- The eighth round in 2022-23 funded 18 grants worth $2 million.
- The ninth round in 2023-24 funded 13 grants worth $2 million.
- The tenth round in 2024-25 funded 11 grants worth $2 million.
Funded projects
A diverse range of commodities across plant and animal industries have received support for projects to deliver safe and appropriate pest management access. These include emerging industries, such as jujubes and commercially supplied wildflowers, which have received support to address fungal and insect pests, and more established industries, such as grains, which have received support to address less-common weeds and insects. Funded animal industry projects include treating bacterial infections in finfish and vaccines for common viruses in the pork production systems. A full list of the projects funded and their current status is available below (as of July 2025).
Download
If you have difficulty accessing these files, contact us for help.
Program's success
To date, the grants have contributed to 45 new permit uses and the inclusion of 49 additional uses on an existing product label, providing improved access for Australian producers. For example, one of the additional label uses allows growers to effectively treat annual rye grass in chickpeas, lupins and peas.
A 2020 ABARES report, reviewing 15 of these projects over a 20-year timespan, estimates the average return for industry is $117 per grant dollar, and totals an average of $17 million per project. Under the most conservative predictions, all but one of the projects had a positive return on the grant investment. The projects reviewed spanned cereals, horticulture crops and fodder grown for the dairy industry. These are similar returns to what the Canadian and US minor use programs have shown.
Contact us
Email: AGVET Access Grants